Written By: Mary Pat Sullivan, Content Director – Travel Weekly Events
Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld is thrilled about this year’s programming. Professional development is critical to growth and success for any business. If you are seeking new skills, expert supplier training, industry certifications, or some lessons from some of your most skilled peers, all of these goals can be accomplished with the more than 30 workshops available this November in Fort Lauderdale.
As always, industry executives will be in attendance to take the stage and inspire, as well as be present on the Exhibitor Showcase floor to meet with travel advisor attendees. Every facet of the industry will be represented, including destinations, tour operators, hotels and resorts, airlines, professional services, transportation, and of course, cruise lines.
New to CruiseWorld this year is a pre-day immersion course with The Travel Corporation and their brands, taking place on Tuesday, November 6. Suppliers will once again offer certification and training programs, such as CLIA, Special Needs Group, VAX, Wednesday, November 7. Thursday, November 8, brings one-hour supplier training classes from Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, Hurtigruten, and Riviera River Cruises, and destination training from Visit Anchorage and Israel Ministry of Tourism.
One of the most popular aspects of CruiseWorld that is consistently praised by attendees is the peer-to-peer workshops. On the final day of the event, Friday, November 9, successful travel agency owners will share their secrets to success in a dozen of these, focusing on four different tracks: Growth Strategies, Business Operations, Sales and Marketing, and Client Development. Learning options will be available to satisfy the needs of beginners, developing agencies and long-time sellers in need of some new ideas and energy.
Those who should follow the Growth Strategy track have become experts at what they do sell, but are trying to expand their book of business. Learn the keys to building new business plans and marketing plans. Find out how you could possibly charter a whole ship and come hear from fellow travel pros who have mastered hot growth markets. Get some tips on selling new types of travel to new types of customers, and learn from the best on how they got started.
The Business Operations track is for travel advisors who want to learn the best techniques for taking their business sky-high! Whether you’re trying to refresh and re-energize, add more talent to your roster, or learn how to most effectively use your resources, the workshops within this track have been created to help you do just that. And, Travel Professional NEWS’ very own Joanie Ogg will be teaching a session on how to choose the right host agency.
The Sales and Marketing track is for those at the top of their game with trip planning, but need to get the word out about how good they are! Learn from successful travel advisors who’ve taken the journey themselves how to market yourself and tell your story, and Travel Professional NEWS’ Andy Ogg, who will be running a master class on the rules of social media marketing.
The final track travel advisors can follow is Client Development. This track is for professionals who want to learn how to qualify clients, develop their group customers, grow their family travel business, and help family travelers with special needs. If you want to grow your customer base and obtain the secrets to selling to these different markets, this track is for you.
Attendees can choose to follow the same track for all three of their peer-taught workshops, or mix-and-match their sessions. Here’s a snapshot, and full session descriptions can be found on www.cruiseworldshow.com.
- Growth Strategy topics will include:
- Developing business and marketing plans
- Making the million dollar leap from $1M to $2M in sales
- Thinking bigger and filling the ship
- Sales and Marketing topics will include:
- How to make the phone ring
- Picking the best social media platforms
- What should your website do?
- Business Operations topics will include:
- The Host Agency Conundrum – How do you make the right choice?
- Travel Advisors and Fees-This Isn’t Volunteer Work
- Are ICs right for your business?
- Client Development sessions will include:
- Qualifying Your Clients
- Profitable Custom Land Tours for Groups
- Autism Travel/Special Needs Travel 101
Travel advisors teaching these courses have been extremely successful in their fields. All are million dollar travel advisors who have attended Global Travel Marketplace (GTM), and many have served on GTM’s Advisory Board or are currently serving on it. Learning from them is an incredible opportunity for all who take advantage.
The range and variety of topics and speakers in CruiseWorld’s programming provides value for all types of travel advisors, from the home-based professional to the cruise-centered advisors, the seasoned veterans and those new to the industry. It is an educational opportunity not to be missed.
CruiseWorld will be held November 7-9 in Fort Lauderdale, with ship inspection opportunities available at both Fort Lauderdale and Miami ports on November 10 and 11. For more information on Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld, including the ship inspections and the complete program, visit www.cruiseworldshow.com.